Demand for action on racial harassment in social housing

Campaigners are calling for social housing providers to put lives above profits following an Observer report on a black tenant who was left homeless after a racist campaign by neighbours.

Former social housing chiefs, Lord Victor Adebowale, Aman Dalvi, Lord Geoffrey Filkin and Barry Simons have signed an open letter to the National Housing Federation highlighting wider failings to protect victims of racial harassment. The letter demands an urgent review of social housing policy to ensure that perpetrators of racial harassment are evicted, or their victims rehoused as a priority.

The group acted after reading of the plight of Laura Tate (not her real name) who has been homeless for five years after fleeing her flat following death threats. Her housing provider, London and Quadrant (L&Q), refused to evict her abusers, despite their convictions for racially aggravated harassment and public order offences, and it failed to rehouse Tate. Last week a judge awarded her £31,000 in compensation after she sued L&Q for negligence.

The Observer had also reported the case of another black tenant who has spent two years in a women’s refuge after fleeing an abusive ex-partner. L&Q failed to rehouse her without concrete evidence that she was endangered.

“These are not isolated cases,” said the Labour peer Lord Filkin. “Board members and managers have a fundamental duty to ensure that tenants can live peacefully in their homes; there is more they need to do to ensure this duty is fulfilled.”

L&Q, which houses 250,000 people in more than 105,000 homes across the south-east, has promised an independent review on how it handles abuse cases following the Observer investigation.

In a statement on its website it admitted that there were lessons to be learned and said that it has a zero-tolerance policy on discrimination of any kind.

The National Housing Federation, which represents housing associations, said that it would be glad to meet the letter’s signatories to discuss reforms.

“We know that as a sector we can and must do better,” said chief executive Kate Henderson. “Last month we launched our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Insight report, which provided evidence of the change we need to deliver.

“This, and our new code of governance, emphasise the importance of housing association boards and staff reflecting the diversity of the communities they serve and ensuring the sector is always working to strengthen relationships with residents.”